Complete the Motor Parkway Greenway - Connect Queens and Long Island

The Motor Parkway Greenway is one of the premier recreational and commuting spaces for running, biking and walking in Eastern Queens.

As part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, it is an important connecting link between the Queens end going all the way to Bayside and the Brooklyn side going all the way to Coney Island. As a result, it services major residential areas with a safe pathway to greenspaces and recreational destinations.

What is the problem? Residents of Eastern Queens and Long Island want to use the Motor Parkway but they can't safely access it without using their car.

Currently, Nassau County is revitalizing a 14 mile trail on the remains of the Motor Parkway. Once Nassau County's Motor Parkway Trail opens, there will be two amazing greenways near Eastern Queens neighborhoods, but there will be major gaps of connectivity between the greenways. This means that residents will be forced to walk and bike unsafe streets to get to their greenspace.

When the Motor Parkway was given to the City of New York, it was made a park from Fresh Meadows to the City Line. Today 2.5 miles of this park has been stripped away. Building the Motor Parkway East will create safe transportation and recreation options for future generations of Eastern Queens and Long Island residents.

I love the Motor Parkway greenway in Queens, but it ends abruptly at Winchester Blvd. There are major gaps between the Queens greenway and the 14 mile trail being implemented in Nassau. Our families, seniors and neighbors cannot currently access our beautiful parkland safely, without a car.

We need State agencies (OMH, NYSDOT) to coordinate with NYC agencies (Parks, NYCDOT), and work on a solution that allow the Motor Parkway in Queens to fully connect east to Nassau's Motor Parkway Trail.

Without any connection to Long Island in Govenor Cuomo's Empire State Trail, Long Island was essentially left out. The Brooklyn-Queens Greenway and the Motor Parkway Trail can help connect tourism dollars to Eastern Queens and Long Island. The prestigious planning firm RPA recently included the Motor Parkway Trail in its most recent Tri-State Trail report - http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Accessing-Nature.pdf.

There is already a bill in Albany to have a study done by NYS DOT. It is Assembly Bill A.5103 (Weprin/Braunstein) and Senate Bill S.1566 (Avella). We need this bill brought to the floor of Albany's chambers for a vote.

This bill will authorize NYSDOT to study building a connector between the Motor Parkway Bike / Pedestrian Trail in Queens and the planned 14-mile long Motor Parkway Bike / Pedestrian Trail in Nassau County.

For any additional information about our plan to connect both parts of the Motor Parkway, visit our website - www.motorparkwayeast.com